On my way to the primary battlefront I get a notification from the Tech Priests responsible for the Dreadnoughts informing me that Baldos has been disabled. Not killed according to the preliminary report he's down a leg, his gun arm and has a lot of wrecked armor. I adjust my course, Baldos has only been moved to the edge of the compartment just behind the back lines. My procession is rather noticeable with the Domitar taking point. Delta-A3 just ahead of me with the Thallax split three to my left and right and the Scyllax forming a square around me. The Vultrax hovers overhead the wash from its rotors making my robe flutter gently. The two Vorax are behind me along with the trio of Castellax bringing up the rear. You can't even see my petite figure from outside the formation. We move through the mechanicus section of the rear lines. My identification codes and most of them being able to recognize what the automata are lets me make swift progress. There is also a good deal of bowing and prayers to the Omnissiah but those are fine. When I finally round the corner and manage to catch a glimpse of the Dreadnought sitting in a repair gantry I have the Automata, Thallax and Delta move aside. I spot the head and massive scything talon laying nearby being sterilized. "Baldos. Why does it look like you got into a duel with a Dimachaerion?" I ask with my hands on my hips, my lips pursed and my eyes narrowed. The Tech Priests working all freeze as does the Dreadnought as they turn their attention towards me. "It was a worthy foe." Baldos replied fondly. "It could have killed you! Fair fights are for idiots! You could have had one of your Brothers help and shared the honor." I huff as I slowly move closer. "Look at you! Down a leg with just your combat weapon and bolter functional! Your armor is a mess!" "It had to be done. Besides it worked and the largest foe has been slain." Baldos said with a faint rumble of pride. "Yes, it also painted a huge target on you for the hive mind. What were you going to do when the Lictor lurking above us decided to come down and finish you off hmm?" I ask as I snap my fingers. The lead Castellax of the trio has a Darkfire Heavy Photon Thruster Cannon and two Power blade Arrays with built in Bolters rather than a Mauler Bolt Cannon and two shock chargers with in-built Bolters. The Darkfire cannon tilts upward and fires. A howling needle-thin beam of blackness leaps out towards the ceiling some twenty meters overhead. It is immediately followed by two shots from the other two Castellax, their Bolt Cannons roaring once each. Moments later what remains of the third Lictor lands on some unfortunate individual's tent with a wet splat. "Someone please clean that up." I say as I look around, one of the adepts gives me a hesitant nod and heads off to deal with the mess. My Auspex managed to whisper me a warning about the creature as soon as it got within fifty meters of me. It took me a minute to figure out exactly where it was but locking onto a static target with the Castellax's heavy weaponry was a rudimentary task. Baldos coughs awkwardly, "I shall concede the point this time, but it looks like you mangled your potential kill-trophy. Perhaps I might offer you another as a recompense?" He gestures to the large scythe blade-arm that he looks to have ripped clean off. I narrow my eyes further squinting at Baldos. "Fine… I will accept, though the tail would have sufficed." I grumble as I walk over to get a closer look at the damage. "I see you have acquired your own cadre of impressive war machines." Baldos used his sensors to examine the Automata and Thallax. "These are the Automata and guards of house Cavalerio. I… might have recently inherited the title of Matriarch." I admit as I climb up onto the gantry to look at the damaged arm. "Congratulations. You finally have an adequate amount of guardians." Baldos tells me in a pleased tone. I turned to face Baldos' sarcophagus. "Why does everyone keep saying that?" I grumble. "Well good news you can obviously be fixed. Bad news, probably not in time to rejoin the front. Most of the cuts are clean. We'll need to take off your Melta but that was already on the docket to swap back to your twin Lascannon anyway." I get a grunt from Baldos in acknowledgement but little else for the moment as he monitors the data stream feeds from the vanguard. I maneuver my dendrites around and have the Vultrax lower itself to help pry one of the shoulder plates off. Clicking my tongue loudly "We'll need to replace the whole actuator assembly." I climb down and examine the leg injury "Hydraulics in the leg are mangled. Full replacement." I turn to one of the Tech Priests lingering nearby "Strip the damaged armor plates and have them sent to the Armourers. You guys did a good job with the previous repairs. You can handle this but contact me if you run into any issues." "Yes, Princeps" The Tech Priest replies with a respectful bow. "Where are you going?" Baldos asks in a slightly grouchy and suspicious tone. "I am going to take a quick foray to meet Master Doll in the secondary line." I say in a chipper tone as I start moving the Automata back into formation. "Once all this is dealt with… I am going to have a lot of explaining to do." I say with a sigh. —--------------------------------------------------------------------- Bolaar stood at the fore of the vanguard, resplendent in his freshly tuned and serviced terminator armor. Flanked by the Ninth Company Veterans. Three Devastator Centurions at his back, Brother Librarian Astrovas nearby with Brother Silverfury's Contemptor as they pushed forward. The other two Dreadnoughts had broken off to go deal with a Carnifex that had been harassing their right flank. Bolaar's Iron halo flickered as another enemy swept forward to get butchered by the lightning claw relic weapons the Blood Ravens had generously 'gifted' them. These foes were an excellent whetstone for his company. This hive fleet of Tyranids was an old breed long bereft from the presence of the overall hivemind. They were unfamiliar with many of the weapons and tactics deployed against them. This particular hive seemed to have either an aversion for ranged weapons or a preference for melee. The savagery of the creatures signified the latter to be certain. The less experienced Astartes were learning how to evade in melee and those slow on the uptake lost limbs. Bolaar was also finding himself rather impressed with the quality of troops fielded by Lord Drakios and Archmagos Doll. If some of the allies he had fought alongside previously had been half as well disciplined and equipped as these forces some of the battles would have gone far differently. Bolaar could admit that the thought of fighting these particular bugs on a proper space hulk when they were not boxed in on all sides and forced into open combat would have been an absolute nightmare. They had the advantages in nearly every aspect of this encounter. "Captain, we are nearing the center of the module." One of the Centurions called out to him which pulled his thoughts away from the stray and idle musings. "Good." Bolaar crested a small ramp overlooking the bowl like depression in the floor that Nicole had discovered originally. It was packed with Genestealers along with some unusual looking rocks and a large fleshy pod in the dead center. On the far side of the bowl stood the Broodlord itself, surrounded by an honor guard of Warriors. "I have eyes on the Broodlord. We have a Tyrannocyte pod present." Bolaar called in on the command channel. The Broodlord glared right at Bolaar. Energy crackled around its head as it suddenly lashed out with a powerful smite. The bolt of psychic lightning slammed into the conversion field of his Iron Halo, the energy deflected down and around Bolaar where it left a plethora of glowing scorch marks across the floor. When it saw Bolaar was still standing after its strike the Broodlord let out a furious cacophonous screech. The petals of the Tyrannocyte bloomed open and out fluttered a swarm of Gargoyles with Fleshborers and Sky Slasher Swarms with Spinemaws. The Tyrannocyte itself sprouted a series of Deathspitters. The swarm finally showed its ranged weapons. "Brothers! Star Dragons! Our foes stand before us! By Blade and Bolter we shall break them! We are Astartes! We are the Emperor's wrath! By the words of our Primarch! Never waver! Never retreat! Never doubt! The flesh is weak! The weak shall be purged! What remains is strength!" Bolaar roared and raised one of the power claws high "Fire and Fury!" "FIRE AND FURY!" His brothers answered. Bolaar strode forth and as one the tide of ceramite and steel that was the Ninth Company followed behind him. His eyes never left the Broodlord, despite his helmet he could feel the furious gaze of the creature following him as he waded his way through the mass of genestealers. Bolaar was halfway to the Broodlord when he deflected a second bolt of lightning from the beast with his crackling lightning claws. In his peripheral vision he watched as a large blue automata, highlighted in his HUD as a Domitar plowed through the horde and crashed into the Tyrannocyte, striking the pod and going clear through one of the walls of chitin and flesh. Moments later the pod detonated violently from the inside as the Domitar struck out with its Gravaton Hammers showering the surroundings in pulped viscera. High above another automata, a Vultarax, unleashed a full salvo with its Havoc Missile Launchers and struck out at the Xenos fliers with an Arc Blaster. The effects were devastating and drew the ire of a majority of the remaining Tyranid air units. Bolaar looked to either side and took note of who was still with him. He was unsurprised he found Brother Silverfury and Brother Astrovas had managed to keep pace. What did surprise him was Lieutenant Drallis followed right behind him who was armed with a grenade launcher. "Planning to join the duel with us, Drallis?" Bolaar asked with a hearty chuckle. Drallis glanced up at the looming Broodlord and shook his head "No, Captain, I did however bring something. I know not how much these will help since the beasts were frozen before but I wanted to try." Hefting the grenade launcher Drallis fired out the first glowing cyan cryo grenade which impacted just in front of the first Warrior which hissed and screamed as the gel coated its carapace and rapidly froze, catching it and a handful of genestealers all of which started to writhe and grew sluggish under the effects of the grenade. As he saw the grenades were effective Drallis launched the remains of his limited supply before he slowed down "Give them hell, Captain!" Bolaar now had a clear path to the Broodlord. "Astrovas! Silverfury! To me!" He called out before he charged forward, smashed through one of the nearly frozen solid Warriors and cut the head off another with his claws. The trio entered into the small clearing around the Broodlord. Astrovas's eyes aglow with his force sword in hand. Silverfury flexed his combat weapon. The beast sized the trio up with a look of disdain. The trio thought themselves ready but the speed of the abomination caught them all by surprise as it struck out at them, simultaneously erecting an aura of despair around it. Bolaar parried the two strikes sent his way but failed to find an opportunity to counter-attack. Silverfury took both strikes on his armor and responded with a salvo with his Combi-bolter that the creature seemed to duck and weave through with supernatural grace. Astrovas blocked one of the strikes directed towards him. Unfortunately he was a moment too slow and the second strike cleaved through a section of leg armor drawing a deep bloody gash. The creature had drawn first blood. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Despite the setback Astrovas grit his teeth and focused on making up for his injury with his precognitive abilities to dodge the salvo of lethal claws that stretched towards him as the Broodlord tried to deal with what it viewed as the weakest of the trio first. Astrovas was forced to contort himself and bring his force sword around to contend with the inhuman speed of the monster. Bolaar went on the offensive with his lightning claws to take pressure off Astrovas, but it was Silverfury that landed the first blow. Firing his Multi-melta forced the Broodlord to duck and take a glancing strike from his combat weapon in exchange for avoiding the scalding blast. One of the Broodlord's arms let out a sickening crunch as it was left bent at an odd angle. Bolaar followed it up with a series of strikes that merely chipped off some of the creature's chitin as it leapt back for a brief moment. "It's regenerating!" Silverfury called out as he noticed the subtle signs of the wounded arm shifting back into position. Bolaar snarled, he focused and pushed the looming psychic presence of the creature from his mind. He struck out and exchanged a blinding series of blows with the beast, his two clawed arms fought with the Broodlord's four talons. Block. Parry. Riposte. Deflect. Counter. Parry. Bolaar accumulated gashes along his pauldrons and chestplate as he fought furiously. He scored a pair of blows that left deep oozing gashes along the Broodlord's chest but took three in exchange. Astrovas launched a bolt of lightning of his own, locking the Broodlord in place for a split second so Silverfury capitalized on the opening by landing a brutal strike on the monster's leg wounding it. Astrovas leapt forward to cleave through one of the four lethal arms. Bolaar stepped forward, getting in closer and as the monster tried to bite his helmet, he countered with a brutal headbutt. His helmet smashed into the skull of the Broodlord dazing it as Bolaar savagely dug in with his power claws, his arms a blur as he furiously dug into the chest cavity of the Broodlord. A claw struck out and dug into Bolaar's abdomen, puncturing several organs. The Broodlord tried to twist the claws deeper but before it managed to do so one of Bolaar's lightning claws finally pierced out through the far side of the Broodlord's chest after eviscerating his way through the large chest cavity. The monster shuddered once before it went still. Bolaar's entire front was covered in xenos blood and viscera as the Broodlord slumped down lifeless and the backlash through the synapse network killed hundreds of the remaining genestealers. "Captain?!" Astrovas gasped from where he had collapsed from the psychic shockwave. "I'll live" Bolaar grunted as he panted and grit his teeth. "But if someone could call an Apothecary, I would be grateful." Talking was proving rather difficult with the giant razor sharp talons buried in his abdomen near his diaphragm. Bolaar could tell removing the limb was going to be highly unpleasant. Bolaar took solace in knowing their foe was dead and reached up to remove his helmet. Looking out over the compartment that had turned into a battlefield as the rest of the company continued to hunt down and purge any and all stragglers that survived. —-------------------------------------------------------------------- While the battle with the main forces was ongoing Jari looked out into the corridor ahead of him. All the mines L3-3T had laid out were gone and now the walls, ceiling, and floor were painted with genestealer blood and viscera. Jari leaned against the barricade just behind the gunner who manned the heavy bolter on a tripod they had lugged over. "What a mess." He grumbled as he shook his head. "They'll make servitors clean that up right, Sarge?" one of the soldiers asked as they examined the carnage. "Throne I hope so." Jari replied with a wry chuckle. "Cleaning and sterilization duties can be delegated to custodial servitors, once all hostiles are confirmed terminated." L3-3T stated as he closed one of the wall panels he had been fiddling with for a few minutes. "Well that's one piece of good news." Jari stated as he squinted. A flicker of movement at the end of the corridor catching his attention. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to some shore leave here in a few weeks." Jackal said wistfully from behind Jari as he reloaded one of the box magazines for his rifle. "Masks on!" Jari suddenly yelled, everyone stiffened before they put on various gas masks and carapace helmets. Jari watched as the strange mist at the end of the tunnel thickened and swirled, a long dark shape slithered and levitated into view behind the fog. "The frak is that ugly thing?" He asked aloud. L3-3T stepped up next to Jari. "Malanthrope is confirmed still alive after the death of the Broodlord. Do not let the miasma touch you or its tentacles grab you." Jari watched as the creature poked at one of the genestealer corpses seemingly harvesting something from the head of the slain Xenos. Jari watched it skim slowly over the ground like a malevolent balloon. "Sterilization protocols, boys. Time to earn our bonus." Jari said as he reached down and grabbed a nearby heavy flamer. He flicked a lever and the pilot light flickered on. Similar actions were repeated as the other soldiers also grabbed their flamers. The Malanthrope turned towards them and hissed. Its eyes looked around for a way out. Jari could tell the creature was afraid as he stepped forward and took aim. "Burn it!" He growled as he squeezed the trigger a jet of burning liquid promethium shot out to hose down the creature. Several other streams joined his as they burnt away the Miasma and cooked the Malanthrope until it collapsed onto the floor of the tunnel. They continued to fire until all that was left of the creature was a charred husk. —-------------------------------------------------------------- POV: Mech-Lord Zephyr Zephyr looked around at the remains of the battlefield as cleanup operations got started. The area would be thoroughly checked and not a single Tyranid bioform would remain by the time they were done. The Thanatar-class Siege Automata he had utilized during the fighting had performed exceptionally well. If that had been all he would have been inordinately pleased but it seemed their little Omnissiah-blessed wonder had come back from her latest excursion with a host of glorious Crusade-era automata. "A Vultrax with an Arc Blaster, two Setheno pattern Havoc Launchers, I believe that unit has the power blade augmentations." He whispered as his cybernetic eyes flexed and zoomed in towards the flying unit. Unlike the other automata these new ones were tagged specifically to Nicole. He would need to get her permission for some close up examinations. The idea of getting to work on such machines made him giddy. He turned his attention towards the units back on the ground "Those Castellax Battle-Automata are glorious. Two units with the double Shock Chargers with in-built Bolters in each arm. Two units with a shoulder mounted Mauler bolt cannon. One unit with the upgrade to two Power Blade arrays with in-built Bolters in the arms and a Darkfire Photon Thruster Cannon on its shoulder." He watched as the Automata took aim and unleashed a thin line of pure darkness, effortlessly piercing the armored chitin and flesh to boil the biomass away at the touch of the un-light. Zephyr made his way closer, eyeing the two Vorax automata "Vorax Battle-Automata with two Power Blade arrays each with an in-built Rotor Cannon on each arm. Mounted on top of the chassis we have one unit with a Lightning gun and one unit with an Irad-cleanser. The insectoid-like appearance rather than humanoid is striking, but effective." He mused as he nodded his head taking scans as he went. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel[f]ire.net "A Domitar Battle-Automata with two Graviton Hammers and a Missile Launcher. The only elite variant of the ancient Conqueror pattern present. The Vorax and Vultrax are classified as fast attack units while the Castellax units are general mainstay units, though those units look excellent for the class. His axe thumped against the metal floor as he approached Nicole's cadre. Getting a closer look at the remaining automata "Scyllax Guardian-Automata. Each with the Scyllax combat array and four different ranged weapons. I see one Kraken Bolter, one Maxima Bolter, one Rotor Cannon, and one Meltagun. Only four variants present. A shame I would have liked to see all nine. I wonder what the specifications are on their electro-thermic reactors? What formatting do they use for their banks of lucid cogitator-stacks?" he mused. "Master Xephyr?" Nicole finally noted his presence and gave him a small polite bow. He nodded "A wonderful host! These guardians are suitable for your protection. I see six Thallax as well! Good, GOOD! Did you know the Domitar was the last unit to be produced before the Schism? Of the Automata produced during the thirtieth millennium it is one of the most sophisticated." He let out a sigh "If we only had an Arlatax Battle-Automata we would have a representation of all the mainstay automata units of the age." Zephyr approached the lead Castellax to gently rub his hand over the chestpiece. "Nicole I would very much like to closely examine each of these units when time permits." Zephyr announced reverently. "Of course, Master Zephyr, your expertise in helping me understand how to maintain them would be greatly appreciated. Maybe we could even reproduce a few? A few more Vultrax would be great, though I understand some of the components for the Scyllax, Domitar, Thanatar and Castellax are likely beyond even our forges." Zephyr considered it as he looked up at the hovering unit. He cocked his head to the side and hummed. "The startos thrusters are feasible with a working example. The most difficult pieces are the atomantic heart and atomantic deflector. The Havoc launchers are difficult to produce as is the Arc blaster but not beyond our means. I may have the schematics from the Mechanicum Taghmata for various comparable stratosautomata. It would be a fine project, even if the number of Vultarax produced would be few. Replicating the Vorax however is not feasible at the moment, even if theoretically possible." Nicole nodded her head as Zephyr turned back to her and looked down at the small figure. "The Archmagos has informed us of some of your findings. Congratulations are in order for inheriting your house. However we will require a thorough tribunal to discuss the revelations on the late Magos Cavalerio and the ramifications of your discoveries." He watched as Nicole made a guilty expression for a brief moment. "Yes, there are some matters I need to bring up to Master Doll and Master Xor." She admitted and Zephyr felt a small pang of sympathy. He reached out and gave Nicole a pat on the shoulder with one of his augmented arms. "Do not worry. Now come along. I believe I have devised the purpose of this chamber. It was originally for processing and storing of biomater. We should inform the Archmagos in person." Zephyr was more than happy to expound on the abilities and history of the new Automata to Nicole and any of the Tech Priests that were trailing them on their way towards the looming figure of Doll who stood at the same console Nicole had discovered initially at the edge of the bowl shaped depression.